‘The Mastermind’ Review – Josh O’Connor Delivers A Masterclass Performance In Unusual Heist Movie

For pure aesthetics and tone, Kelly Reichardt delivers a true masterclass in 70s cinema in The Mastermind. However, this is more than a film of pretty window dressing and beaucoup jazz music. It’s a tribute to an era of cinema that continues to inspire filmmakers to the present. Further, in addition to its tone, The Mastermind feels right at home, existing as a slow-burning, yet gripping character study that delivers a heist story in an arthouse movie.

We begin in the 1970s, set in Framingham, Massachusetts, the film draws real-life inspiration from the heist of the Worcester Art Museum in 1972. In The Mastermind, we meet James “JB” Mooney (Josh O’Connor), who is an unemployed carpenter. Down on his luck, Mooney moonlights as an art thief and plots his first big heist. However, after successfully stealing four paintings from the museum, the plan goes haywire, and his life starts to unravel. 

The film is a heist movie that focuses more on the aftermath and its impact on the so-called ‘mastermind’. Suit coats and colorful masks are ditched in favor of caps and sweaters. Now, for some, this may be a mark against the movie, but in fact, it proves the greatest strength. In using little dialogue or narrative interruption, we follow a man on a winding journey of escape and discovery. The Mastermind is not about planning a high-stakes robbery or grand theft a la The Italian Job. The story here is more focused on the quiet desperation of a man looking for work, who becomes an amateur art thief as a means of last resort. The film deals with the consequences and paints a portrait of a soul lost amid the haze and uncertainty of the 1970s. 

Let’s start with O’Connor and his performance. O’Connor dazzles as a hardworking blue-collar carpenter who decides to try his hand as an amateur art thief. His portrayal is one of acceleration that only intensifies as his heist becomes anything but a successful coup. Never once does O’Connor project the image of a character. As a native New Englander, it is refreshing to see actors bypass the stereotypical Boston accent. O’Connor crafts in Mooney a fully realized character who, despite desperation, remains a sympathetic figure. 

Opposite is a cast of supporting roles, who mainly pop up as Mooney takes it on the lam. However, the mainstay supporting performance is Terry (Alana Haim), as Mooney’s wife. Their exchanges for much of the movie are relegated to telephone conversations, but Haim conveys an exhaustion and frustration without having to sigh or scream. Her quiet anger serves as the film’s emotional backbone. 

From the 70s aesthetic to the centering of the world 50+ years ago, O’Connor in The Mastermind delivers a performance that evokes such tender devotion as Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye or even the desperation of Dustin Hoffman in Kramer v Kramer. Simply put, whether intentional or not, O’Connor delivers a performance that feels right at home in terms of the decade, but also the vibe that the film evokes. 

The knock against this film, which some will make, is that it employs minimalism in its nearly two-hour runtime. While some may feel the movie meanders, that is the point. By the climax, the story not only justifies itself but delivers a payoff that is in keeping with the character. In addition to the trappings of on-location shooting and infusion of realism, the movie itself carves out a spot in the pantheon of 70s cinema. The use of minimalism is not only a trademark of Reichardt but a hallmark of many films of this era. 

The story is stripped down to the essentials. Reichardt employs the use of long takes and little dialogue, instead allowing the use of jazz music and tracking shots of the characters to drive the narrative. Now, that is not to say the film isn’t without moments that are true standouts. Notably, after Mooney steals the paintings, he hides them in a barn, using a ladder to access the space. O’Connor plays the scene beautifully, and it adds to the absurdity. The scene perfectly captures that this is no criminal mastermind, but a regular Joe in way over his head. 

Now, the ending may be another bone of contention for some, but it fits with this arthouse style and tale of an unusual and ordinary carpenter turned thief. The film is a look at a downtrodden underdog in a fight for survival. Through the loving embrace of 70s cinema and a standout performance from O’Connor, The Mastermind is more than a surprise, but a masterful triumph.

The Mastermind will debut in theaters on October 17, 2025, courtesy of Mubi.